2 bald eagles found shot dead in northern Minnesota

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and federal wildlife officials are attempting to identify the person responsible for the death of two bald eagles found in Blackduck, Minn.

DNR Enforcement Division Communications Director Joe Albert says the eagles also appeared to be shot. He said the agency was notified of the incident from an anonymous message left on the non-game wildlife phone line on or around April 23. DNR Conversation Officer Demo Regas responded to a remote area not far from Blackduck and located the dead eagles on the banks of the Blackduck River.

The eagles were sent to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife forensics lab in Oregon for a necropsy, the animal equivalent of a human autopsy, to find out the official cause of death.

Albert added a joint investigation between the DNR and federal wildlife agents is ongoing.

A $2,500 reward is offered for any information that leads to an arrest or conviction of the person responsible, as bald eagles are a federally protected species. Those who may know something related to this case are asked to call the Turn In Poachers line at 800-652-9093.